Reviews by ndolover:

Lazlo's is located in downtown Lincoln. A large brick building with lots of character located right next to the brewery. While I will leave the Brewpub vs taproom to others, it smacks of a brewpub to me. Brass, brick, and fresh beer are the hallmark.

The beer is good, but not great. They had a vanilla porter and wheat beer with chamomile which I had and liked. I found it odd that they didn't have a Pale Ale or a IPA.

The service was good, but corporate perky.

Overall, it was a good time and the vibe was nice. However, I wouldn't go out of your way and Omaha probably has better choices.

Lazlo's has a pretty great terrace. Sit outside in the summer months and enjoy a burger and fries with their Creamy Garlic dipping sauce with one of their signature brews. The beer, as it were, is nothing to write home about. They must use the same yeast in all 12 varieties including seasonals because there is actually very little difference between their lager, their IPA and their Scotch Ale. The dark beers are quite similar too. Their Third Stone brown is not extremely distinguishable from their Collapsar Oatmeal Stout or Dark Side Vanilla Porter (which is this porter-lover's personal favorite from this location, excluding their seasonal Fallen Angel Sweet Stout).

However, they do have 2 vegetarian sandwiches, including a homemade veggie burger, which is pretty tasty when you need some comfort food and a beer. In Lincoln, it's my favorite outdoor seating, and overall favorite place to eat drink and be merry. It's not the coolest place in the world, but when in Lincoln, Nebraska, Empyreon/Lazlo's is your reasonably priced local dinner/beer option (although Modern Monk/Misty's Steakhouse has better beer as far as local beer goes). It's a good environment both inside and out, family friendly, hanging plants, happy hour every day until 6 or 7, and only a hint of that corporate feeling.

I always thought this was part of the Empyrean brewery.... anyway if one is traveling I-80 and would like to stop for a pint before or after the montonous drive that is western Nebraska, this is a good place. The people were friendly, had great service, and had a nice atmosphere (not to mention the many other things available in a big college town). I in particular liked the Dark Side Vanilla Porter by Empyrean, but also had a sampler that contained a beer or two I wished I could get in bottles. Prices were reasonable and would definitely visit again as there seemed to be not much for craft beer in the area.

Great brewpub to visit in Lincoln. This building sits right in the heart of the Lincoln's Haymarket.

I love the atmosphere and feel of this Lazlo's. Very busy whether at lunch or dinner but really great food. All the beer is brewed down the black so you are getting the freshest beer out of all three Lazlo's locations.

Empyrean beer is very solid. Nothing spectacular but certainly not below average. The Vanilla Porter is a truly above average beer but the rest of their line-up is just average as far as craft beer goes. Definitely worth trying and good but not overwhelming.

Lazlo's food is awesome. Way above average for a brewpub. The service is above average but don't expect the servers to know much about the beer. Luckily the descriptions are clear cut and Empyrean brews all their beer to style.

I enjoy trying their homebrew champion beer that they brew from their internal homebrew competition.

One of the most delightful items I love is their various beer dinners. I've attended three of them in Omaha and have loved all of them. I haven't been to one in Lincoln but I assume they are also amazing. If you get a chance to attend one, I strongly suggest you do.

My wife and I stopped in here with our children on our recent vacation to Nebraska to see the sandhill crane migration. We were so impressed with this place that we decided to try and compile our list of our favorite brewpubs of all time and this establishment was right up at the top with a few others. I will admit that it was an oasis for weary travelers, but I think that even if it were our local brewpub we would be equally excited. We were most impressed with the fact that all of the food is prepared from scratch. Even the kids meals recognized that children are people too and they deserve real food. The apple sauce was actually chunks of steamed or otherwise softened apples, the kids burger was great and the chicken fingers were also quite tasty (yes we sampled our kids food). I had a steak and it was delicious. My wife had the Kentucky hot brown and said is was good. The mashed potatoes were exceptional. The beers were very good, but we didn't drink much as we were still travelling. We simply split a sampler. Thankfully you can purchase their beer to go on site or at local liquour stores around the state as we found out later in our trip. I don't want to gush too much, but we have nothing to say that isn't positive. You could probably find better beer and/or better food, but the fact that you can get both together at a reasonable price and you can bring your kids to a smoke free environment where they are welcome is something special.

I went here twice on consecutive nights while in town on business. The first night I went to the bar and had two beers and a 6er to go. The second night I had dinner with a colleague and my clients. They had 7 or 8 taps I think and the selection was decent although I'd love to see a standard IPA (they were tapping a limited release one on Thursday...damnit) or at least a pale ale. Something "imperial" or otherwise interesting would be cool, as well. What I had was good - the LunaSea ESB was quite good, the oatmeal stout on nitro was decent, and the Common was pretty good, too. Service was decent - at the bar it was good but at the table less so. I had a strip steak for dinner which was pretty good, and the rest of my party's food seemed good, as well. I wish I had tried the onion rings which they seem to be famous for but I didn't get the chance. Oh well. Overall, this place was a great option for food and beer in Lincoln, and I would go back if I were in town again.

First off, I have never received service anywhere as good as Lazlo's service, and it's incredibly consistent. The food is great. They make one good hamburger, and their beer battered onion rings are a must have! Sometimes I go there just for the onion rings.

The beer on the other hand is average at best. They have a several beers that cover several general styles, but they are nothing to write home about. No IPA or pale ale on regular production. They do offer free samples of all their beer. They always have two seasonal beers available. The styles don't seem to correspond to the season though. For example, a light ale or lager in the dead of winter, or stout in the summer.

This location recently moved next door into what used to be Fireworks, and I really don't like the atmosphere there. I liked the other building much better. I know tend to go to the one on Old Cheney.

I try to work in a visit any time I am passing through Lincoln. They used to have a store in Fremont, but the Busch Light crowd there apparently didn't provide enough business to keep the place afloat.

When I was back in Lincoln over the recent holidays, I had dinner with my father-in-law and his wife here. The descriptions of the physical space itself below more than do Lazlo's justice, so I won't rehash any of that. The bar area did strike me as unusually well-lit (although this could be good for accurately reviewing a beer's appearance). Every restaurant in Lincoln is non-smoking, which is a plus. The food is standard pub fare, as far as I'm concerned, but Lincoln locals absolutely love it from what I can tell. I won't comment any more on that aspect either. What was important to me and my wife on this visit was the beer. Lazlo's offers around six or eight beers at any given time, with the year-round line-up almost always on. I'm usually more interested in the seasonals and special offerings, which during our visit were the Holiday Ale and the Smoked Lager. I had the former while my wife went for the Darkside Vanilla Porter. They were both solid, interesting brews. We left with a growler of the Porter which cost us -- get this -- all of $6.10 for a fill-up (that's with your own growler; buying a new one adds around $3 to the price). Unfreekinbelievable. I like that vanilla porter and all, but at $6 a growler, it can't be beat. Anyway, Empyrean Ales are always reliably quaffable. The food menu offers pairing suggestions that seem well-informed. Servers are a bit beer-retarded, but that seems, unfortunately to be the norm with brewpubs in many places. Certainly worth a stop if in Lincoln for a day or two.

Upon entering the Haymarket Lazlo's one is greeted by the host stand with a nice little fridge full of Empyrean Ales beer to go in 6 packs. Nice! The beer is front and center. The waiting area is somwhat scattered about (on weekend evenings there will be a wait). Also up front is the small bar (seating for less than a dozen). The tap handles are clearly visable, there are the 6 "regular" Empyrean beers plus a Seasonal and the Lazlo's "Limited" beer. That's it on tap, no others, which to me is great. If you must they do have a limited bottle selection, although I have never personally ordered one. Why bother? Get an Empyrean Ale!

Behind the bar is the seating. The lower level is more "baresque" with booth and table seating, some booths tucked away for a little privacy. I also notice a couple overhead TV's with sports on. The second tier of seating (upstairs) seems a bit more for upscale dining, although this area does feature the assorted serving trays (I was absolutely fascinated by these).

As others have mentioned, the food is top notch. Everything I have ever had (I have had over half the menu) is great. For sandwiches I recommend the French Dip. For entrees, the NY Strip or Voodoo Chicken. Service for me has been excellent. Top notch servers at this location, the ones I have had also know about the beers. One waitress I got did inform me she was not 21 so she had not had the beers (I asked about the current Limited and Seasonal). She got another server (bartender?) who came over and this gentleman was able to answer my questions. That was nice that she did that rather than forget about my questions.

As mentioned, the tap beer selection is limited to the Lazlo's Empyrean Ales beers, but I think this is the best thing to do. Feature your beers. If someone wants a GD Bud Light, well they can have it in a bottle. My rating relects my opinion that a brewpub should have only its own beers on tap, hence the good rating.

All in all this is a great brewpub for Lincoln, NE. If you are in town, please make an effort to stop into the Haymarket location (its the original one). Although, I must admit, that I do not get here as often as I probably should.

We wanted to try some of Empyrean's brews while we were in Nebraska for the holidays so we drove up to Lincoln just to check this place out. Had a long (~30min) wait before we got a seat at around 1pm so we got to check out the bar a bit. They had many good sounding beers on tap, including a smoked ale, which i was looking forward to. Also they had some six packs in a cooler by the door that one could buy. After we were seated, i found out that i could get a sampler of 8 beers for $5.50, which was pretty sweet. Sampler glass size was pretty good. I tried almost everything they had and wasn't too impressed with much. i did like the smoked porter but everything else was like a watered down version of what they were supposed to be. Not awful, just blah. I did get a pint of the smoked and another of their ESB, which was decent. Food was fine, nothing great, and we spent about $50 for the two of us.

Lazlo's along with FireWorks, is a sister entity of Empyrean; FireWorks, Lazlo's, and Empyrean are all adjacent to each other (one can walk directly from one restaurant to the other). Lazlo's has been remodelled extensively in the past few years, and is now a somewhat small restaurant. Waits are common on weekend evenings.

The restaurant is tastefully decorated with a brewing mural and some old beer serving trays nailed to the wall, yet avoids the usual chain-restaurant garishness. The bar area is very small, and can only seat about 10 people. The tap selection is, not surprisingly, limited to Empyrean beers (6 permanent/2 seasonal); B/M/C bottles are available, though not advertised. The staff is knowledgeable about their beers and how they pair with the menu items.

The food is quite excellent and reasonably priced. The only possible downside I can find with the food at Lazlo's is that the menu is similar to what one can get at most chain restaurants. Items are prepared promptly and correctly. The appetizers at Lazlo's are, in my opinion, the strongest part of their menu; the lavosh is excellent.

Lazlo's has become a Lincoln institution, and with good reason. The beer, food, and service are all quite good, and it shouldn't be missed on any visit to Lincoln.

The brewing is technically done at the adjoining Empyrean Ales Brewery, thus Lazlos is like a glorified tap house. Lazlos is the home of Empyrean Ales. The tap selection is limited to only Empyrean beers, Third Stone Brown, Dark Side Vanilla Porter, Chaco Canyon Honey Gold, Luna Sea ESB, and Burning Skye Scottish Ale. These are also available in six-packs too go. Also on tap are a lame nitro-oatmeal stout and, often, one seasonal, and one Lazlos Limited.

Frankly Lazlos would be a great stand-alone restaurant. The food is that yummy! Even a non-beer drinker would love this place because the food is that outstanding. The menu offers a little of everything from Voodoo Chicken to Prime Rib to Hamburgers and BBQ. The beer-battered onion rings were very tasty!

This Lazlos is located in the Historic Haymarket district. The décor inside is friendly. It is modern and bold but classy and classic! It suits my tastes. There is a very small bar upfront with most of the space devoted to the restaurant aspects. The help is typically young, attractive, and knowledgeable about the food and beer. (This place may sound trendy but it is not.)
The atmosphere is comfortable and casual with a subtle stylish flare.